with during its stay in our country at any great distance
from salt water, though, in common with most maritime
birds, it occasionally straggles into inland localities.
In the south of Spain we found the Grey Plovers very
tame and fearless, but in the autumn, on our own coasts,
they are, as a rule, more wary than the Golden Plover.
To those who are not acquainted with this species, I
may mention that it is at once to be distinguished from
the Golden Plover (to which it bears a considerable
superficial resemblance in shape and winter plumage) by
the presence of a hind toe and the black axillanes or
under wing-feathers; it is also a somewhat larger and
heavier bird, and the note is very distinct from the well-
known plaintive.whistle of the species last named. I
have noticed a peculiar habit in the Grey Plover that
I do not find recorded by other authors,—that of occasionally
throwing complete somersaults in the air in the
fashion of the Roller (Corarias garrulus).
I cannot conclude this article without a reference to
Mr. H. Seebohm’s most graphic and interesting account
of his experiences on the breeding-grounds of the Grey
Plover in the valley of Petchora during the summer of
1875, and the success that he and his companion,
Mr. Harvie-Brown, met with in their search for the
nests, eggs, and young of this species. A full and
most absorbingly fascinating record of this ornithological
triumph can be found in vol. iii. of Mr. Seebohms
‘ History of British Birds.’
The Grey Plover supports the confinement of an
aviary fairly well; the drawing for the accompanying
Plate was taken from a bird that has passed two years
in my possession at Lilford.